Texans' Tate said he will play against Saints

The good news is that running back Ben Tate was back on the field. He said he would play against New Orleans on Saturday night.

Coach Gary Kubiak said he hopes Tate can play against the Saints, but he'll wait to make a decision. He wants to make sure his second-year runner is 100 percent.

The bad news is that inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans sat out another practice because of a bruised elbow. In regular season, an elbow injury wouldn't keep Ryans out, but Saturday is the second preseason game.

Running back Arian Foster practiced for the second day in a row. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph, who suffered a groin injury last week, returned to practice.

Kubiak plans to play many of his starters the first two quarters.

Quarterback Matt Schaub looked good in practice. He completed six long passes. Andre Johnson made a highlight catch, the kind he's known for. He'll play for the first time on Saturday.

Texans running back Ben Tate expects to play in the upcoming preseason game.

Texans running back Ben Tate expects to play in the upcoming preseason game.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle

Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle

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Texans running back Ben Tate expects to play in the upcoming preseason game.

Texans running back Ben Tate expects to play in the upcoming preseason game.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle

Texans' Tate said he will play against Saints

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Rookie receiver Lestar Jean, an undrafted free agent from Florida Atlantic, had another good practice. He caught almost everything thrown to him and continued to improve as a blocker.

After practice, Kubiak praised a lot of players, including inside linebackers Xavier Adibi and Darryl Sharpton. The Texans went to camp looking for depth at linebacker. With Adibi, who is much more physical than in the past, and Sharpton on the inside and Brooks Reed and Jesse Nading on the outside, the Texans may be developing some quality depth.

And that doesn't even count Bryan Braman, the 6-5, 230-pound undrafted free agent from West Texas A&M. He had 1 1/2 sacks off the bench in the victory over the Jets. Braman, who is quite a character off the field, has a chance to make the team at best and the practice squad at worst.

The Texans have a special teams practice this afternoon. It's the last of two-a-day drills. Camp officially ends Monday. The first roster reduction is after the third game against San Francisco.